Sakura: Cherry Blossom of the Leaf
by Scenic Sakura
Summary: This story is focused on Sakura Haruno. It's been two years into her training under Lady Tsunade and she's starting to think about Sasuke a lot. Will she think too far and find a way to see him? Or will one of the Shinobi from the hidden leaf unexpectedly steal her heart and take those thoughts away? Xx Please Review xX
1. Phase One - Fruit Salad Sauna

Sakura Haruno found herself walking along that same path once again, to remind herself of a certain stoic man she once fought beside. Her pace slowed slightly as she turned her head to the right to view an old looking bench.

She stopped walking completely before the wind started to gradually get stronger, blowing Sakura's fringe wildly over her face.

She didn't bother to move her hair out of her eyes, in some ways she wanted her eyes to sting from something other than the tears that could threaten to fall any moment, just like they usually did.

But this time, to Sakura's amazement, she didn't cry. Instead she confidently stroked her fringe out the way of her face and turned away from the bench.

"Sakura!" A strong voice abruptly shook away any of Sakura's thoughts before appearing before her.

"Oh, Lady Tsunade," Sakura bowed her head slightly before looking back to her mentor. "Is there something you need from me?"

The wind blew past both women as Tsunade took an unsure breath.

"Shizune has arrived back from her assignment this morning and I would like to relieve you from your daily duties for the rest of the month." Sakura frowned slightly as she stared into Tsunade's eyes uncertainly.

"I don't mean to be rude Lady Tsunade, but I am voluntarily working under you as your apprentice, performing those duties are only a natural part of my training," Sakura started before leaning to her side. "Does this mean that you no longer wish to train me?"

"Don't be absurd!" Tsunade raised her voice, making Sakura blink in shock. "I'm merely letting you rest for a month! You are a great apprentice, there's no doubting that! However if you want to become a better kunoichi, you need to rest. You have been over exhausting chakra that you don't have yet," Tsunade explained rather bluntly. Sakura sighed before straightening her posture to listen further to what was being said.

"I would also recommend that you build up relationships with old friends. It seems as if you have been drifting away from everyone ever since Naruto left to train under Jiraiya two years ago." Sakura's eyes brightened up slightly at the sound of her teammate's name.

_'__That's right, Naruto will be coming home next year! Time seems to have flown past so quickly!' _Sakura thought to herself with a small smile in the corners of her mouth.

"Okay, Lady Tsunade, I'll see what I can do." Sakura agreed without difficulty. Tsunade looked down at her and nodded.

"Good. Come and see me at the end of the month. I'll have something big in store for you. See you around, Sakura." Tsunade finished while walking away boldly, keeping her posture almost perfect as she headed in the direction of the Hokage tower.

"Goodbye Lady Tsunade!" Sakura shouted after her as she inhaled deeply before sighing in relief.

To Sakura it seemed like a huge weight had been lifted from her chest. She had trained hard for two years constantly without a day of rest, and being told that she had a month of rest only made her responsibilities lighten up.

"Hmm, now that I think about it…I have been secluding myself from my village. Even when my own mentor invited me out to drink on my 15th Birthday a few weeks back I denied it and continued with duties that could have waited…" Sakura muttered out loud to herself. She resisted the urge to head in the direction of the training field before heading into the village's shopping centre.

Sakura felt slightly uncomfortable while walking through the busy street. The faces of the civilians became a bit foggy to her, which was somewhat depressing. She used to take time out of her day as a Genin to help the elderly out carrying their shopping bags back to their homes and cleaning the shops after hours for free when they look like they needed the extra help.

Thinking about it now made Sakura realise that she never really took the role of a shinobi that seriously when she was a Genin.

_'__Since when did becoming a shinobi mean that you stop helping the civilians you live around…" _Sakura thought curiously before she heard something hit the ground a few feet in front of her really hard.

She looked ahead for the source of the noise and discovered that it was a lady in her thirties. Sakura relaxed her shoulders somewhat while walking towards her. She thought that the lady must have tripped on something and landed, unfortunately, really hard on the concrete ground.

Although within seconds the area around the lady cleared into a spacious circle as people started to talk a lot louder. Sakura started running towards the scene by instinct.

"What are you doing?! Hitting a lady like that!" Teuchi from Ichiraku's Raman shop yelled with a clenched fist in the air and a ladle in his other hand. It took Sakura seconds to reach the scene.

"What's with all the commotion?" She asked in an assertive manner. Before Teuchi could reply to Sakura's question, a man dressed in jeans and a simple shirt walked up to the lady and kicked her side brutally.

Sakura reacted quickly and punched the man squarely in the jaw, without the help of her chakra, making him fall back on his butt.

Sakura ignored the man on the ground, struggling in pain before, looking over to the lady. She quickly analysed her and noticed that she was pregnant.

"What the HELL do you think you're doing you crazy man!?" Sakura roared, her emotions boiling up quickly. Sakura stomped over to the man and picked him up by the scruff of his collar. A few civilians around him sensed the urge to back away from Sakura despite having nothing to do with the situation.

"She's not important to me any more! She's weak and disgusting and I want nothing to do with her! She's ruined my life!" Sakura felt a strong urge to eradicate this guy's existence with a jutsu she learned not so long ago that was easy to pull off…but she shook off the feeling. After all he was just simply a civilian. Instead she snarled at him aggressively and chucked him to the side harshly.

Sakura hurried over to the lady on the ground and knelt down to her side.

"Are you hurt?" Sakura questioned blatantly as the Lady sat up with little struggle.

"I'll be fine." She winced at her last word and her body twitched to the side slightly.

"You are pregnant." Sakura spoke directly to the lady, to confirm her analysis and to reassure the lady that she was allowed to be helpless in a situation like this.

The lady simply nodded her head slightly before lifting her top up. Sakura flinched slightly at the nasty looking bruises that could be seen all over her body.

"Here, let me help you." Sakura said while using her left arm to support the lady's back and her right hand to heal the fresher bruise. The lady seemed to relax more as she figured that Sakura was a medical ninja while closing her eyes.

The crowded civilians started to scatter and leave the scene as nothing else was happening.

"Can I ask you for your name? My name is Sakura." Sakura started while her hand hovered from one bruise to the other.

"Thank you Sakura. I'm afraid to inform you that I no longer have a name. My ex-boyfriend used all the money he had to change my name by getting expert ninja from a foreign country to erase my memory a few months back," Sakura furrowed her eyebrows and looked more intensely into the lady's eyes. "He got so mad when he knew I'd found out what really happened…So this morning he wanted to kill me…and the baby I kept secret from him." The lady looked extremely sad as she stared back into Sakura's eyes.

"That's ridiculous! Everyone deserves a name at least." Sakura replied casually. She looked up and saw Teuchi still standing outside his shop.

"That's why you never responded when I shouted your name!" He roared cheerfully, causing the lady to jump.

"Excuse me?" She questioned while Sakura helped her stand onto her feet. "Do you know my real name?" She asked further with a beam of hope shining in her eyes. I could see Teuchi struggle somewhat before he spoke.

"Your name is Suki," He said with confidence "Yeah, that's right! You used to come to my shop and help me out when I ran out of menma!"

"Suki…Suki, yeah. That taste's right on my tongue. It must be my name." She affirmed to herself while rubbing her stomach softly. Sakura smiled and held her hand out to the lady.

"I recommend that you go to the hospital. You're going to need professional equipment to check on your unborn baby to see if it's safe. Would you like me to escort you there Suki?" Sakura questioned.

"You're a really nice girl Sakura, thank you for that. Not many people would stand up for me like you did. I would appreciate it if you did take me there please. My knees do feel weak from earlier."

Before Suki could take Sakura's hand, the man from earlier that they didn't take notice of had found a long and rusty butchers knife and forced it in the direction of Sakura's neck.

"How dare you strike a woman while their back is turned!" A strong male voice shouted while a huge white dog bit the man's hand, causing him to drop the knife abruptly and yell in agony.

Sakura span on the spot and came in visual contact with Kiba's back.

"Uh, Kiba?" Sakura stuttered almost speechlessly. Before he could respond, Teuchi coughed loudly while closing up the shop.

"I'll take Suki to the hospital Sakura, You can sort out this mess with your friend here." He stated before escorting Suki to the hospital.

Kiba smirked to himself as he turned his body so that he could see Sakura.

"Hello Stranger." He started. Sakura sighed in annoyance. She dismissed his nickname and walked next to him.

"Hi Kiba. You might want to tell Akamaru not to bite…like, that hard?" Sakura winced with her last words. Kiba looked into Sakura's eyes with a confused expression before he reluctantly called Akamaru away from the man.

Once again Sakura walked up to the man and helped him up by grabbing his shirt.

"What is the meaning of all this rubbish I've just heard? You've committed illegal action and your alliance with the leaf village is questionable." Sakura gritted her teeth delicately, trying to avoid further self-aggravation.

"I'm not saying a thing to you!" The man retorted before spitting in Sakura's face.

Sakura's aura seemed to make the sky darken in contrast as she effortlessly wiped the cigarette smelling saliva off her face.

Sakura simply pushed the guy away, he stumbled on his feet before trying to land another attack on Sakura.

Sakura infused her fist with some of her chakra and was aiming to smash her fist into the man's wrist that he was going to use to attack her with.

Although before Sakura's brutal punch could hit, Akamaru jumped on the guy and forced him to the ground and Kiba held Sakura's arm back with a bit of struggle.

"This guy pisses me off too Sakura…Although, as shinobi, we cannot get involved too heavily in the civilians cause of injury…" Kiba mumbled. Sakura gave him a stern look before snatching her arm away.

"Ugh…What do we do with him?" She questioned aversely. Kiba shrugged and as if their voices were heard loudly, the Anbu squad arrived on the scene. Sai accompanied the group although Sakura and Kiba couldn't have seen him behind the four tall Shinobi that stood before them.

"Don't worry, we'll need to take this guy into questioning. We'll take it from here." One of the masked men spoke up.

The Anbu squad swiftly cuffed the man up and left the scene, leaving Sai behind.

"Oh, Sakura. It's rare to see you out in the sunlight with a comrade." Sai stated blankly, clearly trying to provoke a negative reaction. Sakura placed one of her hands on her hips and sighed noisily.

"It's rare to see you approach someone with such positivity Sai." Sakura retorted sarcastically. Sai smiled and approached the two ninja.

"Anyway!" Kiba spoke up loudly which caused Sakura to flinch from the loudness that suddenly erupted from nowhere. "I was heading down to the sauna rooms! You guys should join us."

Sakura showed a hint of worry while Sai smiled further.

"I suppose I can spare the time." Sai said bluntly. Kiba gave him a harsh glare and had the intent of taking things out of proportion until Sakura spoke up.

"Us?" She asked. Akamaru wagged his tail while placing himself to sit next to Kiba.

"Yeah, the old Genin 11. Ino would kill me if she heard that I spoke to you in your free time and didn't invite you. Temari from the sand is there too." Kiba answered, almost forgetting about Sai's somewhat rude comment.

"Temari?" Sakura started while straightening her posture. "Oh, that's right, the Chunin exams are on again aren't they," She reminded herself. "Alright, I'll go there." Sakura finalised.

They all headed to the sauna in silence. To Sakura, it seemed, that the awkwardness seemed to grow with every step they took.

Sakura frowned and looked to her sides. Both Kiba and Akamaru looked comfortable walking beside each other without saying a word. Sai wore an expressionless face yet Sakura could tell that he was also happy with walking in silence.

_'__Have I grown apart from these guys? Do I really even belong here?'_ Sakura thought, her frown becoming more of a grimace.

"Are you okay Sakura? You seem to be pouting." Sai verbalized his thoughts openly. Sakura's eyes widened and she quickly turned to face Sai.

"I-I'm not pouting Sai! I'm just thinking!" Sakura defended herself hesitantly as a hint of pink dusted her cheeks.

"Dude, you were totally pouting. Even Akamaru thinks so." Kiba started poking fun at her too as Akamaru barked in correspondence.

Sakura's cheeks started to heat up more as she started frowning again.

"I said I was thinking! Ugh, you guys are just seeing things!" Sakura became flustered and started to panic slightly. She'd been so used to training and keeping quiet and alone that socialising and banter seemed like something she was new to.

"Oh really?" Sai questioned in a playful manner. Before Sakura could stutter her next words a blur of purple rushed onto the scene and squeezed Sakura tightly.

"Sakura!" Ino yelped happily. Sakura stood still for a few moments before hugging back her old friend. Kiba and Sai exchanged a curious look before joining the group of ninja that surrounded the front of the Sauna's.

"Where the hell have you been all this time?!" Ino cried as she let go of Sakura. Sakura felt a surge of warmth hit her as see saw Ino's face and body. Sakura noticed that her once flat chested rival had flourished to a long haired kunoichi whose face gave her joy and nothing but sincerity.

"Training?" Sakura suggested quietly, although Ino didn't listen to her. Instead Ino lifted up Sakura's hair and touched at her shirt and finally her forehead.

"You've changed so much since I saw you last, other than your inhumanely huge forehead!" Ino laughed. Sakura smirked and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'd say you're still the same, Ino-pig." Sakura retorted impishly. Ino grinned and took her hand before yanking Sakura in the direction of the hot springs.

"Hey guys! Look who's joining us today!" Ino shouted a bit too loudly for Sakura's likings.

Sakura frowned faintly whilst trying to hide the embarrassment of Ino's noisy announcement.

"Sakura?! Oh Sakura! I have not seen your youthful face since Naruto left to train under Jiraiya sensei! It looks like you have blossomed since our last encounter!" Lee spoke up as his stance straightened dramatically. Sakura sighed at his words before shaking her head slightly.

"You're silly, Lee." She replied.

"He is right though, you do look a little different from the last time we saw you, Sakura." Neji attempted, Sakura smiled and joined the group.

Everyone took their time to greet Sakura and catch up on the gossip of the group.

Sakura looked around and noticed that there was someone missing.

"Hey, where's Hinata?" Sakura voiced.

"She's inside the sauna already. She doesn't like anyone to see her go in and out…It's an insecurity we've all learned to respect." Tenten spoke up.

Sakura shrugged slightly as they all decided to enter the sauna together.

Sakura felt the warm sauna relax her body like it used to as she lowered herself into the water.

"This is so good," Sakura breathed as she sat herself in a comfortable position. "I'd forgotten how soothing this is."

"H-hi Sakura." Hinata stuttered. Sakura looked to her left and saw Hinata with her arms over her chest.

"Oh, hey Hinata. I almost didn't see you there." Sakura responded cheerfully.

Before their conversation could last any longer, Ino and the rest of the group got into the water.

"So, what's going on with you and Sai?" Tenten interrogated Sakura, making her somewhat speechless as Sakura looked at everyone.

"W-what do you mean 'What's going on'?" Sakura responded defensively.

"Don't try to hide it," Ino started with a slightly blunt tone. "Kiba wouldn't have taken you here. Sai must be interested in you or something..." Ino continued. Sakura could say now that she was utterly confused.

"Don't play dumb! I invited Sai here and he refused my offer! But he's here now so you must have done something!" Ino raised her voice. Sakura sweatdropped and raised her hands.

"I don't know what you're trying to say. Kiba was the one to invite me here saying that you'd be mad at him if he didn't. Sai actually just tagged along with us…I have nothing to do with him being here…Honestly." Sakura retorted warily.

Ino seemed to calm down slightly and sit back into the water.

"Hmm, Fine. I believe you…" Ino said while laying her head back into the cushion she placed behind herself.

"I hear that you and Shikamaru are an item now…Is this true?" Tenten teased Temari. Although she didn't take the bait and responded calmly.

"Really? That's the first I've heard of it," Temari dismissed.

Sakura looked at the group and smiled.

_ '__They've not really changed one bit…have they.'_ Sakura thought to herself.

"Is there someone you're interested in, Sakura?" Ino spoke up as if to continue a conversation. Sakura blinked a few times and realised that she must have missed what they were talking about as she wiped some sleep away from the corner of her eyes.

"U-uh, n-no?" Sakura stumbled on her words. Ino smirked evilly while leaning closer in Sakura's direction.

"Oh? Is that so? It seems as if you're lying." Ino stated obviously as everyone in the room seemed to listen in on the conversation a bit more closely.

"No way! I don't have the time to be thinking about all that stuff!" Sakura defended herself stridently.

"Wait…" Tenten started before leaning back to her seat with disinterest. "It's a no-brainer." She continued, which turned the attention of everyone to her.

"What do you mean, Tenten?" Ino asked, trying to pry information from her.

"Think about it. She must be in love with someone she's embarrassed to name…It's obviously Lee. She didn't act like she usually did around him earlier." Tenten baited Sakura. Ino widened her eyes and looked right back at Sakura.

"Oh! Sakura is it true!?" Ino shrieked in excitement. Sakura immediately straightened her back and looked at Ino's wild eyes.

"No. Just no!" She retorted uncontrollably. Ino started to look at Sakura cautiously.

"Really?" Ino teased.

"Really! If I told you who I held feelings for you guys just wouldn't understand." Sakura took Tenten's bait and quickly noticed as Tenten smirked.

"So you do like someone?" Tenten said triumphantly. Sakura sighed in defeat.

"Oh c'mon! You have to tell us now!" Ino cried.

Sakura looked around the room and saw nothing but expectant eyes staring at her.

"Fine," Sakura exhaled miserably. "I still like S-Sasuke-kun." She muttered quietly. Although everyone in the sauna heard this crystal clear, and became quiet while staring at Sakura in shock.

"That's just plain stupid." Ino spoke up. "You probably still 'like' him because you've not been out with the rest of us. It's okay though. You'll be spending a lot of time with us now." Ino finished and smiled with understanding in Sakura's direction.

Sakura was about to speak and make up an excuse as to why she couldn't hang out with everyone, but she quickly realised that she didn't have any.

"That makes sense…" Tenten pondered Ino's words for a while. "Hey! Why don't you join team 9 on our picnic tomorrow?" She asked.

Sakura sighed again and reluctantly spoke.

"Yeah, I suppose that would be nice." Sakura tried to sound friendly while talking.

Tenten smiled. Conversation seemed to change quickly and the rest of the session seemed to run smoothly.

Everyone had said their goodbyes and headed off home. Sakura was the first to reach her house and wondered what exactly was in store for her tomorrow with the picnic and Tenten.

* * *

><p>A.N: This must be my longest introductory chapter ever ;-; Although I really do hope that you guys enjoy it D: I'll be adding more information to the story Bio as the chapters go on, and as always, Please review! I will be working on this story so that it actually has an ending too!<p> 


	2. Phase Two - Wingman of Hell

The morning sunrays finally reached Konoha. There was a slight mist surrounding the ground as Sakura exited her home to meet Tenten and the rest of the team at the training field like she had asked her.

It was around seven O'clock in the morning as Sakura reached the field. She took a quick glance around her and realised that no one had shown up.

"I could've sworn that Tenten told me to meet up at this time…" Sakura murmured to herself.

Little did Sakura know, there was a tall figure with a strange haircut lurking around near the trees.

"Hel-lo Sakura!" A mighty roar broke through the silence. Sakura jumped and span on the spot to try and face the direction the sound came from, but she couldn't see anything.

"Have you seen my friend?" The voice questioned. Sakura turned around for a second time but again…nothing.

"…Hello?" Sakura called out gingerly.

"He wears an in-date fashionable green jumpsuit, and has shimmering black hair formed into the shape of sophistication." The voice sounded huskier, in order to create an atmosphere.

Sakura sighed inwardly and looked around for a sign of a person. She finally saw a silhouette in the distance and slowly walked towards it.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sakura replied to the voice. She was a few steps away from the shadow before it promptly disappeared. "Look, I'm not here to play games." Sakura said sternly as she turned around on the spot.

Sakura stopped turning and came face to face with Tenten's Sensei.

"Guy..?" Sakura asked as Guy wore determined eyes and had one of his hands in his pockets, ready to pull something out. Sakura relaxed as she gave Guy a weird look. "What are you doing?"

"Is it me," He started as he pulled out a rose and hovered it under Sakura's nose. "Or does this rose smell like," He started.

Sakura unconsciously took a deep breath in to smell the rose before Guy could finish his sentence.

"Chloroform?" He finished with an excited tone. Sakura's eyes widened as her body immediately started to turn numb. She completely blacked out as Guy took her limp body and rushed her to the abandoned shed just at the village borders.

He left her body sitting in a chair and made the preparations for when she woke up.

A few hours passed before the effects of the chloroform died down.

Sakura started to wake up and shuffle around in her seat. She quickly looked around to find herself in an unfamiliar place.

"What the hell am I doing here?" She said out loud, panic lacing her tone.

"Finally," Guy called out from the corner of the shed. "Do you remember what happened?" He asked. Sakura turned to face him and had a slight scowl on her face.

"You got me to smell chloroform…I remember clearly now." Sakura retorted as Guy merely shook his head.

"No. My dear friend Lee saved your life." Guy emphasised. Sakura rubbed her head in confusion as she stood up.

"Wait…what?" She questioned. Guy looked out the window which gave one of his eyes a brilliant shine.

"Someone was impersonating me. They were going to kidnap you Sakura." He started before snapping his head abruptly in Sakura's direction. "But the handsome and heroic Lee fought long and hard to get you back. In fact." Guy continued while looking in the direction of the window again. "Here he is now!" He exclaimed as Lee entered the shed with sweat dripping down him.

Sakura eyed him warily and crossed her arms in disbelief.

"If you expect me to believe that-" Sakura started. But suddenly the shed they were in started to get attacked by something heavy. This made Sakura jump into a fighting stance.

She searched her body for any weapons but found nothing…She'd been robbed of her tools.

"What the hell is going on around here?!" Sakura shrieked as the shed came crumbling down, forcing everyone to dart into an area of safety.

"It must be the imposter again!" Lee shouted over the flying remains of the shed.

Sakura rubbed her head and started focusing on who was attacking. It looked like a typical rogue ninja from the village hidden in the waves.

She tightened her headband and readied herself for battle.

"Don't you worry guys and girls! Guy has this all under control!" He shouted as he rushed towards the rogue ninja and immediately got sent flying miles into the distance.

"GWWWUAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Guy cried hysterically.

Sakura's eyes widened considerably.

_'__Just how strong is our opponent to catch Guy so easily like that!? And what do they want with me?!' _She thought to herself in a rush.

"I'll save you Sakura!" Lee shouted while sprinting towards the enemy. Before Sakura could yell out to Lee, he had taken out the rogue ninja with a simple, but harsh looking, kick to the chest.

Sakura stood with her arms by her side and tried to fathom the situation that just happened.

"What the…" She started as Lee jumped up to the branch that Sakura was standing on.

"Quick Sakura! We have to save Guy Sensei!" He yelled in a tone Sakura wasn't sure of.

Sakura reluctantly followed Lee until they reached Guy next to the village gates.

He was surrounded by fellow ninja and random civilians.

"Lee!" He cried as Lee knelt by his side. Sakura walked up to the pair and watched the scene unfold before her.

"Guy Sensei! Are you okay?!" Lee cried back. Guy reached Lee's hand and held it close to his chest.

"Lee. Follow your dreams and don't waste another second training. You need to find someone you can start a family with!" He proclaimed as a tear fell from his eye. "Training gets you no-where. Just look at me! I'm a fool who has put training before finding true love!" He continued before erupting in a fit of coughs.

"Guy Sensei! Don't tell me you're-" Lee's eyes started to water. Sakura leaned to the side and took in the view of Guy's wounds…Although she couldn't see anything fatal. Sakura started to grow suspicious of the two Shinobi in front of her.

"Yes! I'm dying! And I have nothing to show for my training! LEE! You have to follow your dreams! You need to find true love and-" Guy had interrupted himself with another round of coughing. "-Don't waste your youth Lee! Now get out there you handsome man! Don't let your youth go to waste!" Guy roared as he turned his head to the side before giving a comical grunt of death.

"GUY SENEIIIII!" Lee shouted while looking into the sky. Sakura sighed while looking down at Lee. "Sakura-Chan!" He yelled while grabbing onto Sakura's top.

"What is it Lee!?" Sakura responded in a crazy manner as Lee looked up at her, tears streaming down his face.

"You heard what Guy Sensei said! I'm going to follow my dreams and stop wasting time right now!" He started. Sakura started to feel awkward as the eyes of the people surrounding Guy were now looking at her. "I want to protect you Sakura! I want to be by your side forever! I want to have a family with you!"

Sakura's whole body froze momentarily before she punched Lee in the face. Causing him to land just next to Guy.

"Is _that_ what this is all about!?" Sakura's voice boomed throughout the village while she looked down at the both of them.

Guy flinched at Sakura's voice, which irritated her further. She walked up to him and yanked him to his feet with his jacket.

"You're not even dead!" She shouted hysterically. Lee stood up next to Guy and refrained from pissing Sakura off even further. "Ugh!" She scoffed while letting guy down.

"Sakura…I just wanted to tell you-" Lee started before Sakura turned her back to the village.

"Forget it. I'm going to clear my head. Don't, follow me." Sakura coldly stated while sprinting away from the village.

Lee and Guy stood still exchanging looks until they couldn't see Sakura any longer.

"I think she's playing hard to get." Guy whispered in Lee's ear encouragingly while sticking his thumb up. "Go gett'er Lee!"

It had reached late afternoon and Sakura had found a great spot to relax at.

Sakura had decided that she would rest on a flat rock in the middle of a calm flowing river. The light reflected on the water magnificently painting the soft waves with minty greens and pastel yellows.

There was nothing but tall green grass on the side opposite where Sakura had arrived.

Sakura sighed and appreciated the peace she had been given while crossing her legs and closing her eyes.

Sakura usually came here when something was deeply troubling her. Like when Sasuke left the village or whenever she messed something up. It was outside the border but it was the most secure place in the world that you could find...she believed.

A few hours passed and day slowly drifted into night. Sakura stood up and realised she'd been followed by someone.

Sakura was about to speak up until a small cough was heard.

"I apologise for my rash actions Sakura." Sakura turned around and saw that Lee was bowing in front of her.

She felt kind of awkward as Lee continued bowing.

"I am not at all good with words and I asked my trusted sensei to help me with my problems." He continued as he looked up at Sakura. Lee had the word exhausted written all over his body as sweat covered every inch of it.

Sakura understood that Lee must have punished himself after making her mad. Sakura frowned and sighed noisily.

"I have loved you ever since I laid my youthful eyes on you!" Lee's voice started shaking violently.

"I know that I will never succeed in stowing your heart away under my intense protection and that is what infuriates me Sakura!" He cried.

The night's silence seemed to deafen the two ninja as they both remained silent for a couple of minutes.

"You know how it feels too Sakura!" Lee broke the silence and took a step closer. "There is someone that you love deeply that could possibly never share that same feeling with you." Lee continued, his words becoming harder to understand.

"Lee…" Sakura muttered as Lee wiped his eyes harshly.

"I understand Sakura…I also understand that you will never hold the feelings that I do for you. That's why I'm always going to protect you and support you no matter what you decide!" Lee claimed.

Sakura bowed her head down and felt a surge of guilt hit her like a ton of bricks.

"I…" Sakura started before Lee rushed to pull her towards him. Sakura's once guilty eyes filled with rage. "Lee!" She shouted angrily, expecting Lee to make a move on her…But it never came. Instead, Sakura hit the ground, Lee's ribs had been penetrated with what appeared to be grey tendrils.

Sakura rushed to her feet and looked in horror at the blood coming out of Lee's back.

"What the hell!?" She whispered to herself as the tendrils retracted into the tall grass.

As Lee fell onto his knee, Sakura risked going over and pulling him back to the short grass where it was safer to see who the attacker was.

"Isn't it past your bed time?" A chilling voice came from a grey haired man with a long Scythe as he walked onto the calm river.

"Who the hell are you!? And why did you attack us like that!" Sakura cried senselessly as the cloaked man simply walked towards them.

He didn't answer as he raised his weapon to attack. Sakura scowled at the man and infused her fist with chakra. Slowly remembering that all of her kit had been taken by Guy from earlier.

He roared chaotically as he went to strike Sakura down. She dodged effortlessly while pulling Lee into a safer place.

"You've done enough to help Lee." Sakura stated as if to answer Lee's determined face. Lee slumped his body into more of a comfortable position as he watched the crazy man attack Sakura in a brutal way.

_'__If any of those hits land, Sakura's surely a goner!' _Lee thought as he grimaced. He tried to stand up and help her out of pure reaction although a sharp pain hit through his body and he was finding it progressively harder to breathe.

Sakura continued carefully dodging and attempting counter hits while learning the pattern of her enemy.

_'__He seems to be wanting to try and hit me…that much is obvious. Although he's not really being cautious about anything…his cocky expression makes me feel sick to the core.'_ Sakura thought as she let her guard down for a second.

Sakura let out a small gasp as her foot tripped over a wire like object that was behind her. She quickly recovered her footing but was struck by the enemy's sharp blade.

Sakura winced as the cold blade passed through her right thigh, making it an inch deep clean cut.

As Sakura reared her fist for a strong punch the cloaked man had retreated back into the grass without another sound.

Sakura paused and looked into the grass for any sign of movement and jumped slightly when the cold breeze drifted by.

She confirmed to herself that the enemy must have ran away before running over to Lee to heal his wounds.

"I'm really sorry Lee." Sakura started while closing his wound up pretty quickly. "I know exactly how you feel." She continued.

She let those words hang while Lee frowned.

"I don't want to give you false feelings…It's not a nice feeling at all, I know this. It would only end up with you being hurt!" Sakura stated. Lee flinched at her last word and stood up. Sakura followed him and stood up too.

"I understand." He responded eventually, with a small grin on his face. "I am lucky to have ever met such a wonderful and youthful gem such as you Sakura!" He continued while giving Sakura his infamous thumbs up.

"I will work towards bettering myself while protecting you always!" Lee finished, making Sakura frown.

"Lee…You don't have to protect-" She started.

"Nonsense!" He interjected. "I will protect you no matter what! Until you find that person who can protect you better than me! Then I'll get better than them and you'll have to find someone new! And if you no longer need protecting then I will forever assist you when you need help!" Lee spoke confidently.

Sakura was starting to tear up before a sudden jolt of coldness struck her body. She found that she couldn't move a muscle…not even her mouth was moving as her hand forced itself towards her neck.

"And if you don't need help then I'll be your friend! Someone to talk to about your worries. I swear!" Lee finished while turning in the direction of the leaf village.

Sakura's hands slowly started to tighten around her neck, making every breath harder to take. She wanted to scream out to Lee. Tears travelled down her face as she was coming to realisation.

"Anyway. I'll leave you to think over things a little longer Sakura. Thank you for being so nice while I speak. I'm going to tell the Hokage about the man who tried to attack you earlier…" He continued while he started walking.

Sakura's eyes widened as her body slowly knelt down and picked up a hand-sized sharp rock. Sakura quietly gasped for air and her body reluctantly forced itself in Lee's direction.

"No!" Sakura screamed while trying her hardest to hold her body back. But it was too late. Her wrist was forced into the back of Lee's head with brutal force.

Lee stood still for a few deadly moments before collapsing to the ground without a sound.

Sakura looked horrified as she struggled against something. She quickly flared her chakra to see that the tendrils that penetrated Lee's body earlier was what was stopping her from moving.

She started to get really agitated as she struggled wildly against the binds.

"I'll kill you bastard!" Sakura shrieked while using a substitution jutsu to switch with a log of one of the surrounding trees.

Sakura darted into the grass without thinking straight and used her chakra to pinpoint the enemy. She sprinted in the direction she felt the enemy was and came across a clearing with the guy she was fighting earlier.

"There you are!" She shouted while jumping above him. She used up a lot of chakra to infuse her fist for the attack while she dropped towards the enemy.

Although to Sakura's amazement he wasn't moving. She dismissed his strange actions and her fist collided harshly against the enemies' chest.

"Gah!" Sakura choked and fell to her knees in front of the guy. It felt to her as if she just punched herself square in the chest.

Sakura hovered her hands over her chest and started to examine her state.

"Hey! That hurt!" The guy in front of her yelled while holding his chest.

Sakura looked up and could vaguely see a man covered in strange markings. She tried to think straight but the pain in her chest prevented herself from doing so.

"It doesn't feel great, does it? Being cursed!" The guy stated manically. Sakura flinched and jumped away from the man before healing her wounds. She figured that she _just_ missed a vital area.

"What are you talking about!?" Sakura said in a confident tone. Thoughts were zooming around her head like no-ones business in attempts to figure out just what this guy was doing.

"Of course an underling like you wouldn't understand!" The grey haired man laughed, insanity dripping in his tone.

Sakura started to worry as the man stabbed himself in the gut. Sakura felt a sharp pain emit from her stomach and she involuntarily scoffed on her blood.

"Do you understand now!?" He continued laughing.

_'__He must be some form of human voodoo doll!'_ Sakura thought to herself, wincing at the growing pain, although Sakura could keep the pain from spreading any further with her medical jutsu.

"What do you want!?" Sakura shouted carelessly while standing up straight to face the enemy.

"Huh…Why aren't you dead already?!" He responded. Sakura started to panic so she used a bit of chakra to enhance her vision.

She could see that the man was standing inside a circular diagram made of, what she thought, red paint.

_'__Maybe he can't affect me outside the circle…my life is on the line here so I have to try something!' _Sakura hysterically took action and darted in the enemies' direction to yank him out of the circle.

The grey haired man grunted in shock at the bold move and got flung out of the diagram and back into the tall grass.

Sakura didn't waste a second to follow him and strike him with a strong punch to his jaw. She could hear a few bones breaking under the pressure of her hit and she was sure that it hit a vital point.

She sighed in relief as she couldn't hear any shuffles in the grass…

"I was right about the diagram...He's certainly dead now…But I'll need to find out who he is…" Sakura muttered to herself as she found a village headband. She rushed to pick it up and tie it to her arm to secure it.

She looked at the limp body and her eyes made out an interesting shape on the robes that he was wearing. She memorised it quickly before heading back to where Lee was.

Sakura immediately examined the back of his head and sighed in relief that he was still alive.

Before she could heal him, a tendril shot past her shoulder with extreme speed and gave her a nasty burn. Sakura flinched as she hesitantly lifted Lee's body off the ground and over her shoulder.

_'__He might have a team mate with him…it's better that I retreat for now.' _ Sakura thought while sprinting back to the hidden leaf.

Sakura concentrated hard to keep her footing steady so that she could escape them faster.

As expected, the enemy tried to stalk Sakura as his tendrils sped up to catch her ankle.

Sakura foresaw this and decided to head up to the trees and dart to the village from there.

The enemy seemed soon to lose interest as Sakura ran a few miles ahead.

She cursed herself over and over for letting herself think she had no control over her body while she attacked Lee.

"Sakura?!" A voice to her left called out. Sakura slowly came to a stop as she looked to her left and saw Tenten and Neji together, exiting the training field.

Sakura refrained from accusing them of the set up from earlier as she headed towards the two.

"We've been attacked." Sakura stated obviously as Tenten rushed to take a better look at Lee.

"What the hell?!" Tenten exclaimed as she looked back up at Sakura. "Why haven't you healed him yet?" She continued, shooting Sakura a horrible glare.

"I've just managed to escape them without them following me," Sakura retorted. "I even took one of their headbands to analyse things further." She finished as Neji took a step forwards.

"Don't be so brash Tenten, we need to head back to the village before it's too late." Neji said.

He walked over to Sakura and took Lee from her.

"We'll take it from here. You should go to the Hokage and report this." Neji said while walking towards the gate.

Sakura nodded to herself before looking over to Tenten.

"It would've been different if it was Naruto." Tenten spat harshly.

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows and clicked her fingers out of habit.

"Excuse me?" She questioned. Tenten decided she'd ignore Sakura and started to turn her body. "I don't know what your problem is Tenten. But this wouldn't have happened if you'd have just left me to it. You decided to set me up with him and it didn't go according to plan as you can see." Sakura explained bluntly.

Tenten stood still while turning her head back to face Sakura.

"That's not the point, Sakura." She started. "I'm saying that if Naruto were injured that badly, you'd heal him in a heartbeat."

"Are you serious?" Sakura scoffed before resting one of her hands on her hip and leaning to the side. "I healed Lee despite the enemy still being around. It would have been the same if Naruto was there. Just because Naruto is my team mate doesn't-"

"Whatever. I'm done talking to you." Tenten interrupted sourly before running to the gates to catch up with Neji.

"Tch, what's her problem…" Sakura muttered while she looked around.

Sakura sighed deeply before walking to the training field.

The wind drifted by softly against Sakura's skin. She started to grow a fondness to the hidden leaf's calming breezes more recently.

She walked up to the biggest tree and sat on the opposite side. Sakura sighed once again in relief as she leaned back on the tree.

She quietly unzipped her shirt to see the damage that had been done. There was one nasty looking bruise on her upper half of her body and a big blood blister showing just under her stomach.

"Ew," She said to herself as she moved her hand over the blister to heal it.

Sakura appreciated Tsunade's training at this moment more than ever, seeing as she didn't need to go to the hospital to treat minor injuries like this. The nurses would have given her a patronising smile while not even doing their job properly, expecting everyone to be severely uneducated in medical jutsu's.

Sakura finished healing up her chest wounds and pulled her shirt to the side slightly to reveal a rope burn.

"What was that thing," She muttered to herself as she effortlessly healed the wound up.

Little did Sakura know that someone was lurking in the shadows, watching her every move very closely.

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><p>Please excuse any spelling or grammatical mistakes! D: I'll hopefully be fixing them soon :) Thank you for the reviews! :D xXx<p> 


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